Boulder to London

Well, the full week continues with Jenny and Angie in London.  The last post ended right before we took off for the zoo, so I’ll pick up there.

Wednesday - Went to the zoo at Regents Park.  Angie and Jenny are getting very good at navigating London public transport.  I think at this point we’ve taken everything but a Rickshaw as we’ve made our way from site to site.  The zoo was great, however I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for the animals as clearly being locked up in a cage was not what nature had intended for them.  The zoo did a good job of mixing in a ton of educational information on conservation of natural habitats and extinction risks.  I think my favourite thing at the zoo was actually this really wacky cuckoo clock that went off as we walked by.  After the zoo, we made our way back to Essex Road for dinner at an awesome Turkish restaurant, Casaba.  I highly recommend it!

On Thursday, we had one of our busiest days yet.  Actually, a bit too busy to get everything we wanted to out of each location.  We started early and took a train down to Kew Gardens to see the Royal Botanical Gardens.  Great spot, but allow yourself the 3-4 hours that they recommend.  We only had 2 hours and it was very rushed.  The gardens were beautiful and the weather held as we made our way around the grounds.

From Kew Gardens, we took the riverboat down to Hampton Court Palace which was incredible.  The sun came out and we enjoyed the 2 hour trip that covered several miles of river through two sets of locks.  We viewed wildlife, cool boats and beautiful homes along the banks of the Thames.

We arrived at Hampton Court Palace around 15:00 and had a few hours to explore the grounds.  We made a rookie error and ditched our audio tour early and then wished we had it later on.  The palace was incredible and it was fun to learn about the sketchy past of Henry VIII.  The kitchen in the place was huge and it had these big fireplaces with 8 to 10 ft spits that they used to roast meat on the open fires.

We finished off the day at Akari for Jenny and Angie’s first sushi experience.  Jenny was brave and tried everything we ordered, however Angie stuck to the chicken.

Friday - I actually had to go into the office on Friday to do a few things in preparation for my trip to NY next week, but the girls booked high tea at Kensington Gardens before going over to Covent Garden for the Lion King.  I met them for pre-theatre dinner at a place called East Thai on Drury Lane (Good food, friendly service) and then took them over to the Lyceum Theatre for the show.

I can’t believe the weather has held out for us all week.  Today we’re off to Borough Market for Falafel, Fish and Chips, Green Thai Curry, and Lamb Burgers!  It’s all so good.